Pakistan’s election turmoil: Taliban threatens ‘infidels’ with more violence

Ahead of Saturday’s elections in Pakistan the Taliban is intensifying its attacks, vowing to cripple voter turnout. In the latest move of intimidation, gunmen have abducted another candidate, the son of a former prime minister.

During a small political gathering in the city of Multan, militants kidnapped the son of Yusuf Raza Gilani, the former prime minister who was disqualified last year from his premiership and now serves as the vice-chairman of  the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

The gunmen also killed Ali Haider Gilan’s secretary and a bodyguard during the assault, police said.


“If we don’t get my brother by this evening I will not let the elections happen in my area,” said his brother, Musa, in an interview to the local TV station.

The other family members, popular in the region, said they will boycott the vote unless Ali Haider Gilan is returned.

Several others were injured, including Gilani, who was reported by local media to be bleeding as he was dragged into the abductor’s car.

The Gilani family claimed that they had received death threats in the past from the Taliban and blamed the police for not providing adequate security.

Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan denied responsibility in a telephone call to Reuters.

Taliban struggle

In a message to the group’s spokesman, dated May 1, and obtained by Reuters on Thursday, Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, revealed the organization’s plans for suicide bombings in all of the country’s provinces on election day.

“We don’t accept the system of infidels which is called democracy,” Mehsud said.

The Taliban has waged a war in Pakistan for years trying to enforce Islamic Sharia law and expel the United States, which regularly carries out drone warfare along the Pakistani-Afghani border, inflicting civilian collateral damage. In response, the Taliban resolves to its traditional assault measures of suicide blasts that killed thousands of civilians and security personnel.

 

Supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wave flags and cheer during his campaign closing rally in Lahore on May 9, 2013.(AFP Photo / Roberto Schmidt)

 

 

The group’s main stronghold is located in the northwest, along the Afghan border in the semi-autonomous tribal region. The Taliban also have a strong presence in Karachi.

Over the past month, Taliban fighters have allegedly killed more than 100 people in assaults on election candidates and their gatherings in an effort to undermine elections they regard as un-Islamic.

The extremists are threatening the moderate politicians from some of the country’s most volatile areas forcing them to cancel campaigning. This is also threating the voter turnout on Saturday.

“Everyone is scared of bombs and nobody feels safe. So very few people will go and vote because they’re scared. And God only knows who will be the winner,” Arshad, the local shopkeeper has told the RT crew in Peshawar.

Candidates switch to social media outlets and other forms of communications to avoid large gatherings, a traditional trademark of elections in the country.

The Taliban has vowed to target the country’s three main secular parties which formed the outgoing national government. The Awami National Party (ANP) has suffered some of the worst attacks.

“We can’t campaign, we can’t arrange meetings. All parties are doing rallies with millions of people but we can only do them with 200 people, and even when we do that terrorists still target us,” Mian Iftikhar Hussain, ANP candidate told RT.

 

Supporters of Pakistani politician and former cricketer Imran Khan wave party flags as they wait to listen Khan video link address from a hospital during last election campaign meeting in Islamabad on May 9, 2013.(AFP Photo / Aamir Qureshi)

 

But the Taliban seems to avoid targeting some of the marginalized parties such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami. They have also spared some mainstream parties such as the Pakistan Muslim League-N and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which stands against drone attacks and advocates withdrawal of Pakistani forces from ethnic Pashtun areas along the Afghan border.

So far the main opposition party led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also avoided the Taliban’s wrath as Sharif is seen as a strong contender to become the next prime minister. He advocates breaking from the US hold on the region and suggested negotiations with the Taliban.

Part of the reason why these parties are not in the Taliban’s crosshairs experts say is because they support peaceful negotiations with the Taliban. The group recently said possible negotiations should be mediated by the leaders of the top two Islamic parties and the Pakistan Muslim League-N.

The other parties that have been the targets of the Taliban insurgency also called for peace negotiations but demanded that the militants put down their weapons first and embrace the constitution – conditions which the Taliban has rejected.

Historic vote

For Pakistan, this elections is historic, as the state enters its first ever democratic transition where for the first time a civilian government has completed a full term and is ready to hand over the reins of power to another civilian government.

Prior to that Pakistan was ruled by the military for more than half of its history, mostly through coups.

In the May 11 general election, voting will take place in all parliamentary constituencies of Pakistan, to elect Members to the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament and to the four Provincial Assemblies. Over 86 million are registered to vote in the country.

The main contenders in the race are Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, a 24-year-old son of late prime minister Benazir Bhutto who heads the Pakistan People’s Party, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif from the Pakistan Muslim League and celebrity Imran Khan from the Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Overall, 11 parties will participate in the election.

The army announced on Thursday that it would dispatch tens of thousands of troops to polling stations to prevent the Taliban from disrupting the vote. In Bunjab province alone the army has deployed 300,000 security officials, including 32,000 troops. Another 96,000 security personnel would be deployed in the northwest.

But despite all the promised security measures, it is the non-Muslim minorities which feel most threatened.

“I feel shame, that (Pakistan) People’s Party and these liberal political parties have not played the positive role to give security to the non-Muslim: Hindi, Christians and Ahmadis,” Amar Lal told RT.

 

Source: http://on.rt.com/ymlp8l

Pakistan's election turmoil: Taliban threatens ‘infidels’ with more violence

Threat of violence looms over Pakistan’s elections

LAHORE, Pakistan — With terrorism happening almost daily, Pakistan faces a crucial test in elections this weekend that violent Taliban jihadists who seek a Muslim theocracy have vowed to ruin.

Saturday’s elections will be the first peaceful transition of power from one civilian government to another in Pakistan’s history after decades of military rule that ended only five years ago.

“I am an optimist and to be honest, there is no reason not to be optimistic,” said Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, a think tank. “The election offers the one rare hope in an otherwise bleak situation.”

A suicide bomb Monday killed 14 people at a political rally in Peshawar. A prosecutor investigating the death of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was murdered. Ali Haider Gilani, a candidate for office and son of former Pakistan prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, was kidnapped Thursday.

In all, more than 70 people have been killed in pre-election violence in the past six weeks. But in bustling marketplaces and college campuses across this country, Pakistan’s young say they remain relentlessly hopeful.

by Lisa Friedman, Special for USA TODAY

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/05/09/pakistan-elections/2147367/

Threat of violence looms over Pakistan's elections

Overseas Pakistanis allowed to cast vote in elections 2013

 

Over 4.5 million overseas Pakistanis have been granted the right to vote after President Asif Ali Zardari issued an ordinance.

But overseas Pakistanis will be not be able to cast vote on Saturday, May 11, elections because the time is too short to make arrangements.

According to the ordinance, overseas Pakistanis would have to get themselves registered with the Pakistani embassy in their respective countries.

The ordinance said that polling stations would be set up within the premises of Pakistani embassies in foreign countries.

National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) Chairman Tariq Malik said all those overseas Pakistanis who hold a Nicop identity card and machine readable passports would be casting their votes in elections.

 

 

Source :http://www.emirates247.com/overseas-pakistanis-allowed-to-cast-vote-in-elections-2013-05-09-1.505880

Overseas Pakistanis allowed to cast vote in elections 2013

Gunmen kidnapped the Son of Yusuf Raza Gilani, former prime minister of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Gunmen kidnapped the son of a former Pakistani prime minister on Thursday as a letter from the leader of the Pakistani Taliban revealed plans for suicide bomb attacks onelection day.

Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, in a message to the group’s spokesman, outlined plans for the attacks, including suicide blasts, in all four of the country’s provinces on polling day on Saturday.

“We don’t accept the system of infidels which is called democracy,” Mehsud said in the letter, dated May 1, and obtained by Reuters on Thursday.

Since April, the al Qaeda-linked Pakistani Taliban have killed more than 100 people in attacks on election candidates and rallies, particularly those of secular-leaning parties, in a bid to undermine elections they regard as un-Islamic.

The polls, already Pakistan’s most violent, will mark the first time a civilian government has completed a full term and handed over to another administration.

The attacks have prevented candidates from the three main parties in the ruling coalition from holding big rallies. Instead, they have relied on door-to-door campaigning or small meetings in homes or on street corners.

Gunmen kidnapped the son of Yusuf Raza Gilani, former prime minister and stalwart of the outgoing Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), as he headed for a small political gathering in the central city of Multan, police said.

Ali Haider Gilani’s secretary and guard were shot dead in the attack.

Gunmen kidnapped the Son of Yusuf Raza Gilani, former prime minister of Pakistan

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Best tips on Basement Remodeling Ideas

Basements  are perfect for cool social exercises for the entire family, or just for the children. It’s the ideal spot for the extra-large television, pool table, and to stash table games and make supplies.

Make this space welcoming by finalizing and embellishing it like any upstairs room. Pick agreeable furniture that might be effectively revamped to oblige a couple of individuals or a swarm. Consolidate sound frameworks, web associations, and exceptional lighting to make the space useful.

Basement is perfect for cool social exercises for the entire family

Pretty and Fun loving unfinished storage room into a dream playroom for young women. Delicate soul and pinks are the ideal palette for this pure and woman like kid’s space. An inherent racking unit with modest wicker bushel serves to keep toys formed and perfectly saved, while still making them simple to arrive at for small ones.

Best tips on Basement Remodeling Ideas

Creatives thoughts on Kitchen Remodeling Best Ideas | Basement Reno

At times implied as the heart of the home, the kitchen is a spot to get ready and cook nourishment and,

keep the components tailored and smooth

relying on the size, could be utilized to consume and stimulate visitors. In Antiquated Greek homes, this room was a midway outdoors yard however it was not until around 1800 that the stove, which encased fiery breakout totally, made cooking inside conceivable. As innovation developments, so do kitchens‘ configuration and proficiency. The presentation of the kitchen island has loaned more adaptability to the positioning of the kitchen bureaus and kitchen sink, and assisted make open plan kitchens and eating rooms an actuality.

An overall outlined kitchen has negligible disarray and greatest productivity. If you’re redesigning or completely redesigning, here are the best thoughts for little spaces.

The kitchen opens up to the front room on one side and the family room, where we consume and sit in front of the television, on the other, The thought was that it ought to be an augmentation of both the aforementioned spaces.

Plan with clean lines. Huge corbels, elaborate cabinetry and fastidious items can make a kitchen grope cleaved. Rather, keep the components tailored and smooth, to smooth out the look and make a roomier feel.

• Don’t swarm counters, racks and bureaus with jumble, which makes the space look as if its blasting at the creases.


• keep tabs on a couple of standout things and necessities and conceal the rest away.


• Pick designs and image based components that serve to guide the look to the roof.

fastidious items can make a kitchen grope cleaved.

• The vertical lines of the divider and roof sheets in the kitchen give the impression of more stupendous tallness.


• If your kitchen is finished in pale colors or dim ones, light radiating in will help it feel as extensive as could reasonably be expected.


• 
  Paint bureaus the same color as the dividers. Restricting the cabinetry and the divider color to a lone tint eradicates surface borders that may stop the eye.


•  Profound tones for example dark, war fleet, charcoal and chocolate retreat superficially and make the feeling that the dividers are more distant back than they truly are.


• 
  



Get your Kitchen converted in to elegantly unique piece Finished Kitchen  in Saskatoon or Regina, at unbeatable price.  Ask us what we can do to convert your unfinished/abandoned downstairs area of your house into an enjoyable and useful place.




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Creatives thoughts on Kitchen Remodeling Best Ideas | Basement Reno

How to deal with Dampness, Mold and Moisture Issues in Basement

Dampness control is the most discriminating variable in administering a solid and safe home.

  In order to get your basement Dry, here are a few tips on Dampness, Moisture and Mold Issues

This sweeping soil can even now cause issues in a home’s structure

• 
  Basement Waterproofing:   A few professional will drop into your furnace room and perform a few repairs to take out breaks and gaps and lessen the hydrostatic force being put on the structure dividers.


• 
  Weeping Tile  system utilizes an insignificant measure of water and keeps up dependable soil dampness content.


• Uproot substantial trees that develop near the house, since they might take an excess of dampness out of the dirt.


• Determine that drains, downspouts and (if fundamental) channel pipes divert water away from the house establishment.


• Introduce a trickle watering system framework to water vegetation around the house.

A defective basement might be a bad dream: the pervasive sodden can cause mold development and smelly smells, things archived down there could be demolished, and the structure can even be harmed by relentless water!

Provided that you have dampness, trickles, leakage, or other water identified issues in your basement, you need to get it fixed and dried out quick, before major issues improve. A wet furnace room isn’t the finish of the planet, however: there are various results for get your furnace room dry, and keep it that way.

Get your  leaky wet basement converted in to totally dry  Finished basement remodeling in Saskatoon or Regina, at unbeatable price.  Ask us what we can do to convert your unfinished/abandoned downstairs area of your house into an enjoyable and useful place.

Ask us for discount  if you book early.

Contact us

 

 

How to deal with Dampness, Mold and Moisture Issues in Basement

Water Leakage in Wet Basement | Concrete Crack Repair Contractors | Saskatoon Regina

Things saved in basement might be demolished.

These days basement are more used as finished living extended areas. With the aforementioned sorts of occasions, dampness issues are not only aggravating and uncomfortable, yet can bring about generous health issues. Molds and buildup can effectively improve in damp covers and under divider blankets. Finishing a basement before managing the true dampness issues can expedite the making of health issues and in addition bring about noteworthy harm to the structure itself. A flawed basement might be a bad dream, the pervasive moist can cause mold development and smelly smells, things saved down there might be demolished, and the establishment can even be harmed by tenacious water!

dampness, dribbles, leakage

In the event that you have dampness, dribbles, leakage, or other water identified issues in your furnace room, you need to get it fixed and dried out quick, before major issues advance. A wet baesment isn’t the close of the planet, however: there are various results for get your basement area dry, and keep it that way. Furthermore, items for example a sump pump and reinforcement sump pump will be remembered

Make it magnetic

fondly as a part of the inner part waste framework. This framework encompasses your basement area and gets the water right at the divider ground joint where water gathers. At that point the water is steered through the waste framework and out of the home. This sump pump framework draws the water out of the dirt, since water ascents in the dirt to your basement ground, and the water is then redirected out and far from your house.

reinforcement sump pump

The reinforcement sump pump is an extraordinary speculation for when storms come and the force goes out. This pump will grab any slack and keep your furnace room dry. Once your basement is waterproofed you’ll acknowledge a change in air value and a decrease in mold development. Mold adores wet baesment since dampness causes it survive and it nourishes off of natural material for example cover, wood and paper. The basement’s smelly smell can disperse and you’ll like your dry basement.

 

Get your leaky wet  basement Totally Dry again in Saskatoon or Regina, at unbeatable price.  Ask us what we can do to convert your unfinished/abandoned downstairs area of your house into an enjoyable and useful place.

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Contact us

Water Leakage in Wet Basement | Concrete Crack Repair Contractors | Saskatoon Regina

Best tips for Basement Remodeling Ideas | Saskatoon Regina Basement Construction

make it magnetic

When rebuilding your basement, ponder time utilization of that area. In some cases, the most ideal way is truly keeping an exceptionally adaptable space that way you can change it into whatever you need it to be.

It’s an exceptional thought to increase space in the basement by including constructed ins racking and storage materials. Check adjoining spaces for spots you may have the ability to take space from. Anyhow don’t run over the edge with an excessive amount of assembled ins or an excessive amount of woodwork in the light of the fact that it could get exceptionally costly and you’re probable not to get a full profit for your renovation when now is the right time to advertise.

A great general guideline is to keep it basic and economical, however make it attractive. Provided you are not concealing an issue such as mold or buildup, an air refinement framework is a great route to make your basement area smell in the same class as it looks. A great route to make the basement feel truly welcoming, assuming that you have the chance, is to make an open stairwell. It initially interfaces the upper part of the house with the more level and permits more common light to come into the basement area.

Don’t disregard the significance of your redesign matching whatever is left of your house. It’s discriminating when you’re redesigning your house that it senses that it fits in

with whatever remains of the house —so there’s an exceptional “rush” and individuals feel agreeable in the new space.

 

Best tips for Basement Remodeling Ideas | Saskatoon Regina Basement Construction